Sports
SPRINGER VYING TO RETAIN POST OF DIRECTOR OF THE BCA
by David Harris
Kamal Springer is seeking to retain his position as a director of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) when the meeting for the election of three directors of the BCA takes place at Kensington Oval on August 12th.
Springer created history in 2013 when he became the youngest person to be elected to the BCA’s board at the youth age of 22.
Twelve years later, the 34-year-old Springer, is an experience director and is still the youngest member of the board.
Four other candidates are vying for the three vacant positions on the board; there are Dr Rudolph Alleyne, the head of sports at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, Dr Roland Toppin, the recently retired chief executive officer of the BCA, Carlos Brathwaite, the former Barbados and West Indies cricketer, Henderson Wallace, a current member of the board, and Winston Haynes.
In an interview with Advo Magazine Springer explained why he should be re-elected to serve on the governing body of cricket in the island.
“My key focus has always been the strategy of the organisation, and revenue generation is one of the key things that I think the BCA must work on. As an individual board director, it is quite difficult to achieve objectives; what you can do is to indicate the kind of things that you will support. and once you have done that. When opportunities come in the boardroom whether it is through your efforts to get the board to focus on them. Or they were recommended by committees, or a proposal brought to the board by a director. If these recommendations or suggestions are in the interest of Barbados’ cricket, I have supported them”, Springer said.
“I have supported revenue generation and international relations opportunities because they give us the chance to get revenue and develop our cricket. I have backed proposed and backed recommendations to build strategy, because that is our key responsibility as a board. A lot of the things that I have supported in the past 12 years- I have been able to get them on stream. There are still somethings we need to work on and improve, we are not perfect at all, but there is a good trust towards the right direction”. he added.
Springer said when he was elected to the 12 years ago, it was clear to him that he would have to be patience with his fellow directors because some of them would have been serving as directors for over one or more decades, and there was a communications gap.
“The situation has improved over the years, because the stability of the board is quite critical, making sure that you have people with experience and knowledge of the past and who have longevity going forward is importance. Therefore; the communications between board members becomes more steady and more fluent as time goes on. In many cases, we might know each other as members- but have not work together before being elected to the board. They must be some understanding, and it takes time to build that rapport at the strategic level. It may take a couple of years to build fluently and understanding between a new director and the longstanding members of the board. Over the years, we have reached the stage where we understand each other very well, and communications between me and my fellow directors are strong”, Springer said.
According to Springer, stability and building are the reasons why the members should re-elect to him to the board.
I have two key reasons why I want to maintain my position on the board; the first is stability; the members have invested in me from the time I was 22 years, and I am now 34. They have invested in me for over 12 years to make sure that they have longevity for the future; and this is the point where we can push on, where I can show them the benefits of making the decision to invest in me all those years ago. Having a new president and a new chief executive officer is going to be a critical juncture for the organisation over the next couple of years. Making sure that there is stability around them is the key, Winston Stafford who has been a member of the board for 18 years is retiring, so we are losing a veteran board veteran director. The president {Conde Riley} is also retiring, after serving on the board for over 20 years. So, we are losing the experience of Winston and the outgoing president. Last month we appointed a new CEO last month, and a new president will be elected on August12, having stability around them is key. You don’t want a scenario where too many changes are being made to the board at this time, because you want to keep the BCA stable and developing. Of course, we know that things could be done better, there is new energy coming to the organisation, but let us keep some stability around” Springer said.
He added: “My second reason for running is because I believe that I can play a key role in building strategy. In my day-to-day job, {as manager of sports at Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc} I focus on international sporting trends all over the world. I have to focus on how to develop different sporting activities on the island and how to bring visitors to these events. I also focus on making strategic connections internationally, and on sports strategy every single day. My training is in business strategy, so I have an awareness of how to build these strategies and how to work with others to execute them, and that is what the board has to do. We are at a point where we must build new strategies over the next three to four years. Having that stability, understanding where we have gone wrong, and where we can improve are important. Electing directors who focus on the corporate and business strategy of the organisation is quite critical. We have a lot of people at our disposal who focus on cricket, and cricket development; but we also need to make sure that falls into a larger business organisational development strategy, and that’s where my focus will be. Making sure that the cricketing minds have what they need in terms of the resources and strategic guidance to be able to do their work to develop the cricket in Barbados and globally”.
Springer said he wants to build on the outstanding work that former board members and other persons associated with the BCA have done throughout the years.
“I want to build on the fantastic work that have be done by so many people over the years, former board members, staff, and the people who have served on committees. The BCA is in such a strong position in the society; it is well connected in the public and sectors and the political headwinds are blowing in our direction. We have a prime minister who have said in public on several occasions she wants to develop a cricket economy. That means we should be up front and centre working with the prime minister to build that agenda understanding exactly what her vision is; and sharing our vision with her; and working very closely with her. The prime minister has made it very clear that she has seen many opportunities domestically and internationally for cricket- and we must take that and run with it. This is the point in time for us to secure our future for the next two decades to work well with the government and the private sector now; and build that foundation and get cricket ingrain back into the hearts and minds of the people of Barbados, in order to secure our future for the next two decades. If we do the right things at the right time and work with the right people; that is my motivation to be on the board and be part of rebuilding the image and the strategics platform of the organisation, that is what drives me to continue”, he explained.
